Oakman Inns has reported a continuing strong sales growth for the 13 weeks to 29 September 2019. The company’s like-for-like sales for the quarter were up 5.1%, with total sales of £10.9m representing a 15.7% growth over the same period last year.
Towards the end of the quarter, Oakman opened one new pub, The Lost Boy in Farnham, which is trading ahead of expectation at circa £40k per week.
CEO and company founder, Peter Borg-Neal (pictured), commented, “Oakman Inns is continuing to improve and grow despite the tough trading environment.
'Our recently opened sites are trading strongly, and we are particularly delighted with the performance of The Lost Boy in Farnham which has operated well ahead of expectations since it opened five weeks ago.
'However, it is the performance of our core estate that I am particularly proud of. Having sites that are a decade old still in growth demonstrates how robust our proposition is and what a strong team Oakman Inns has playing for it.”
Oakman Inns has also announce that Joseph Evans will leave the business next year. Borg-Neal added, “I very much regret that my friend and colleague, Joseph Evans has announced his decision to leave Oakman Inns in 2020. Since joining as CFO in February 2014, Joseph has been at the heart of the Oakman Inns’ success story.
'When he joined Oakman, we had seven pubs and sales of just over £10m but, like all growing businesses, we faced a huge array of challenges, which Joseph helped see us through. He has been a huge part of building what we have today – a thriving business with an amazing culture that will soon boast a turnover in excess of £50m.”
Commenting on his decision, Evans said, “I told Peter when I joined that, having been in a big Corporation during the formative years of my career, I wanted to spend the next five years with him learning about the realities of life at the sharp end of business. In return I committed to helping him build Oakman into a market-leading Company. I think both sides of the bargain have been delivered and I am ready for my next challenge.”
Oakman has continued to bolster the strength of the leadership team with the recent appointment of Michelle Farrell as Marketing Director. Farrell has an impressive background covering ten years in the sector including spells at Novus Leisure, Intertain and JD Wetherspoon. Her arrival follows that of Steve Kenee as Chief Investment Officer and Dermot King as Chief Operating Officer earlier in the year.